Ethan Johns: The Roses on the Dead

August 21, 2013

Producer/musician Ethan Johns took “The Long Way Round” before putting out a solo LP, but with this summer’s stateside release of If Not Now Then When? under his belt, another set is already in the works. “I won’t give you the story exactly, because we’d be here all day,” he told Rolling Stoneon the narrative brewing for the next record. “But it follows a pair of brothers that were born on a farm in England, one of whom is quite innocent and the other one is slightly more complex and a darker character. They end up coming out to America around the turn of the century, maybe a little bit before…” He’s done sessions with longtime collaborator Ryan Adams in LA, but who knows when (not now) it’ll be ready. Here’s hoping “The Roses on the Dead” makes the cut — watch him break out a new one above (via WFUV).

In other news, Johns told RS in that same interview that he recorded and performed on four tracks potentially set for the next Paul McCartney album. The first was an “evocative” take on Paul’s new ballad “Hosannah,” cut in four hours at London’s AIR Studios before the pair met up again for sessions at Abbey Road.